Bumper exhaust



p 9, 1958 J. H. DIENER ET AL 2,851,118

BUMPER EXHAUST 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 19, 1955 J. H. DIENER ETAL 2,851,118

Sept. 9, 1958 BUMPER EXHAUST 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 19. 1955 Arraa/vfy BUMPER EXHAUST James H. Diener and George T. Jones, Lansing, Micln, assignors to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application September 19, 1955, Serial No. 535,018

3 Claims. (Cl. 180--54) The present invention relates to exhaust means for an automotive vehicle and more particularly to means for directing a stream of engine exhaust gases through an aperture in a member such as a bumper.

In present day automotive vehicles, the engine is normally disposed in the front of the vehicle and an exhaust system is provided for discharging the exhaust gases from the rear of the vehicle. In order to prevent damage to the exhaust system and improve the styling of the vehicle, it may be desirable that at least the discharge end of the exhaust pipe terminate at least as high as the lower extremities of the body. Since the exhaust gases must have an unobstructed passage into the atmosphere, it is desirable to provide an opening through a member such as the rear bumper so that gases from the exhaust pipe may be discharged therethrough. Heretofore, a considerable amount of difliculty has been experienced in providing a simple, trouble-free mounting for allowing the discharge end of the exhaust system to move as a result of thermal expansion and contraction and still maintain this end in substantial alignment with the aperture in the bumper. It has also been difiicult to provide simple means that are etfective to prevent the transfor of vibrations from the exhaust system to the body.

It is now proposed to provide exhaust discharging means for an exhaust system which are adapted to support the discharge end of the exhaust system in substantial alignment with an aperture in a vehicle bumper at all times, irrespective of changes in the length of the exhaust system as a result of thermal expansion and contraction. This is to be accomplished by means of a hinge structure which is pivotally secured to the exhaust pipe and/ or to the rear bumper adjacent the aperture in the bumper. Thus as the exhaust pipe moves, the hinge will accommodate this movement while maintaining the end of the pipe aligned with the aperture. In addition, one or more portions of the hinge structure may include a sound deadening member that will absorb any vibrations in the exhaust system and prevent their transfer to the vehicle body.

In the two sheets of drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of an exhaust system employing the present invention.

Fig. 1a is a fragmentary plan view of a chassis for an automotive vehicle embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along the plane of line 22 in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially along the plane of line 33 in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an elevational view taken substantially along the plane of line 44 in Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along the plane of line 55 in Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings in more detail, the present invention may be embodied in an exhaust system It) for an automotive vehicle 12 having an engine 13 mounted in the forward portion thereof. In the present instance tates Patent 9 this exhaust system 10 includes a pair of exhaust pipes having separate tailpipes 14 and 16 with the discharge ends 18 and 20 thereof terminating directly in front of the vehicles rear bumper 26. Each of these exhaust tailpipes 14 and 16 are provided with separate exhaust means 28 that are secured to this rear bumper 26. These means 28 support the discharge end 18 or 20 of the tailpipe 14 or 16 in substantial alignment with an aperture 30 or 32 through the rear bumper 26 so that the engine exhaust gases may be discharged directly therethrough into the atmosphere.

In this instance each of these exhaust means 28 includes a decorative bezel 34, an exhaust pipe extension 36 and a hinge structure 38. The present bezel 34 includes a tubular portion 40 which projects into the aperture 30 or 32 in the bumper and a base 42 that is disposed in front of the bumper 26 for being secured thereto. The lower portion of the base 42 may be secured to the bumper 26 while the upper portion is secured to a bracket 44 welded to the inside of the bumper 26. The outer end 46 of the tubular portion 48 may have a cross sectional shape corresponding to the shape of aperture 30 or 32 in the bumper 26. In this arrangement a generally elliptical or elongated shape is employed. In addition the outer end 46 may be rolled inwardly to form a flange 48 that is substantially flush with the exterior surface of the bumper 26. A bafile 58 having an aperture 52 in the center thereof may have a lip 54 that extends into an opening in the top of the bezel 34 and a'flange 56 that is bolted along the bottom thereof for closing the entrance to the tubular portion 40.

The exhaust tailpipe extension 36 may be fabricated in any suitable manner. However, the present extension is a sheet metal structure. It comprises a pair of dished members 58 and 60 secured together so that a gas passage 62 will extend the length thereof and a pair of flanges 64 will be formed along the opposite sides thereof. The inlet end 66 of this extension 36 may be round to fit onto the end of the tailpipe and be rigidly secured thereto by a ring clamp 68. The outlet end 78 of the extension 36 may be flattened to conform to the shape of the outlet end 46 of the bezel 34. This end 46 of the extension 36 extends through an aperture in the bafflle 50 and terminates in direct alignment with the tubular portion 40.

In order to retain the end 70 of the tailpipe extension 36 properly positioned in the bezel 34, any suitable hinge structure 38 may be provided. This hinge 38 includes a hanger 72 having a pair of legs 74 that extend around the opposite sides of the extension 36. The upper ends of these legs 74 are secured together by a pintle 76 which is riveted thereto. This pintle 76 fits into a gudgeon 78 riveted onto a flange 77 on the upper end of the bezel 34. A cylindrical member or bushing 80 of sound deadening material may be disposed between the pintle 76 and gudgeon 78 to permit relative rotation therebetween while preventing the transfer of vibrations from the exhaust system to the bumper structure 26. The lower end of each hanger leg 74 is pivotally secured to a flange 81 formed by the ends of a strap 82 which extends across the full width of the tailpipe extension 36 and is riveted at 83 to the flanges 64 formed on the sides of the extension 36.

It will thus be seen that this hinge structure 38 includes an upper and lower joint that movably supports the discharge end of the exhaust system to permit free longi' tudinal movement into and out of the tubular portion 46 as a result of thermal expansion or contraction. However, since the axes of the upper and lower joints are parallel to each other and normal to the direction of movement of the exhaust system and the outlet end 70 is disposed between these axes and adjacent pintle 76,

l atented Sept. 9, 1958 the outlet end 70 will always be maintained in substantial alignment with the aperture throughout the normal range of movement thereof. Accordingly, the exhaust gases will be discharged directly through the aperture.

Various changes and modifications of the embodiment of the invention described herein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and principles of the invention.

The claims:

1. In an automotive vehicle having an apertured b'umper member and an engine with an exhaust pipe for discharging the engine exhaust gases therefrom, exhaust means comprising a bracket secured tosaid bumper member adjacent said aperture, a tubular exhaust extension having an inlet end receiving the discharge end of said exhaust pipe, a hanger having one end pivot'ally secured to said bracket and the other end pivotally secured to said tubular extension to allow relative movement between said extension and said bracket While retaining the outlet end of said extension in registry with said aperture.

2. In an automotive vehicle having an ape'rtured bumper member and an engine with an exhaust pipe for discharging the engine exhaust gases therefrom, exhaust means comprising a bracket secured to said bumper member adjacent said aperture, a tubular exhaust extension having an inlet end rigidly secured to the outlet end of said exhaust pipe, a hanger havinghinge means on one end thereof secured to said tubular extension and hinge means on the other end thereof secured to said bracket, 'at least one of said hinge means including a pintle and gudg'eon, said pin'tle and g'udg'eon being relatively rotatable with respectto each other and a bushing of insulating material therebetween the arrangement being such as to 4 permit relative movement between said extension and said bracket whileretaining the outlet end of said extension between said hinges and in substantial registry with said aperture.

3. In an automotive vehicle having an apertured bumper member extending across one end thereof and an engine with an exhaust pipe for discharging the engine exhaust gases therefrom, the combination of a bracket secured to said bumper" immediately above said aperture, 21 bezel having the upper end thereof secured to said bracket and the lower end thereof secured to said bumper immediately below said aperture, said bezel including a tubular portion disposed in said aperture and having an aperture in" the outlet" end thereof, a tubular exhaust pipe extension having the inlet end thereof connected to the discharge end of said exhaust pipe, hinge means having one end thereof secured to said bracket and the other end thereof secured to said tubular extension to allow the discharge end of said extension to project into said tubular portion and be in spaced relation thereto to permit said extension to movelongitudinally and be in substantial alignment with said tubular portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,160,808 Bradley June 6, l939 2,267,431 Steensen Dec. 23, 1941 2,290,621 Riesing July 21, 1942 2,489,480 Chester Nov. 29, 1 949 2,515,391 Arbib July 18, 1950 2,568,409 Phillips Sept. 18, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 678,688 Great Britain Sept. 3, 19'52 

